The Golden Eagles (16-3, 3-1 Conference USA) are now tied for third place in the league standings.

But it was Craig's clutch performance that was vital as Southern Miss clinged to 63-62 lead with 7:41 left in the game.

The Golden Eagles started the game hot, leading by as many as 14 points with just three minutes, 14 seconds left in the first half. But Louisiana Tech found its long-range stroke after that, and narrowed the gap to 47-39 at halftime.

The Bulldogs' push continued into the second half, even taking a 59-58 lead with 11:16 to go. The visitors' bounce-back was primarily due to the play of Alex Hamilton, who finished with a team-high 19 points. Hamilton scored nine points inside the first nine minutes of the second half to help give Louisiana Tech the lead.

However, Watson sank a three-pointer with 10:10 remaining, giving Southern Miss its first field goal from downtown of the game. Prior to that, the Golden Eagles were just 1-for-11 from behind the arc.

Southern Miss finished 2-for-18 from beyond the arc, Watson responsible for both makes.

"I had missed two or three before that," Watson he said of his second 3-pointer, which came with 5:54 left and gave the Golden Eagles a 69-62 lead.

"It was a mix-up between the defense. They fell off, I saw the opening. Every one of my teammates probably would've jumped me in the locker room if I hadn't taken it."

Watson was also 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He has now made 29 shots from the stripe. The school record is 38 straight, held by Jeremy Wise.

"Your offense, some nights, it's not going to be there," Tyndall said. "Sometimes, you're going to turn it over more than you want to. But we rebounded and gave ourselves second and third chances. That's how you win."

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Southern Miss rebounds past Louisiana Tech

Michael Craig grabbed six rebounds and scored five points over a four-minute span late in the game to propel the Golden Eagles to an 80-71 victory.

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